Roman cavalry (Latin: equites Romani) refers to the horse-mounted forces of the Roman army throughout the regal, republican, and imperial eras.
In the regal era, the Roman cavalry was a group of 300 soldiers called celeres, tasked with guarding the Kings of Rome. Later their numbers were doubled to 600, then possibly 1,800. All of the cavalrymen were patricians. In the republican era, the general name for the cavalry was equites and these united consisted of the equestrian class and the first class, with a group of 300 cavalrymen in every legion. They were divided into 10 groups of 30 men. Each group elected three leaders known as decuriones. Later the Roman cavalry stopped using Roman citizens as cavalrymen and relied on Auxilia and foreign recruits.
Roman cavalrymen wore a Corinthian helmet, bronze chestplate, and bronze greaves. Later mail was adopted into the army. Their arms included a lance (lancea), a long sword (spatha), and a short throwing spear.
Historians such as Philip Sidnell argue that the Roman cavalry was a crucial part of the republican army. However, other historians bring up defeats such as Cannae and Trebia as evidence against this claim. Cavalry tactics included fighting the enemy cavalry first, then attacking the enemy army from multiple directions to distract the commander and break their defensive line. In the Late Empire light cavalry and mounted archers were used for skirmishing.
Romancavalry (Latin: equites Romani) refers to the horse-mounted forces of the Roman army throughout the regal, republican, and imperial eras. In the...
Historically, cavalry (from the French word cavalerie, itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback...
legions and, in addition, provided almost all of the Roman army's cavalry (especially light cavalry and archers) and more specialised troops. The auxilia...
existing dual Roman/Italian structure: non-Italian mercenaries with specialist skills lacking in the legions and alae: Numidian light cavalry, Cretan archers...
elected to equip and repair the Roman navy. Equites singulares Augusti – Elite cavalry unit tasked to guard the Roman Emperors. Usually commanded by a...
of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Romancavalry in time...
citizens serving as legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 infantry and 300 cavalry. After the Marian reforms in 107 BC the...
However, the cavalry of the Late Roman army was endowed with greater numbers of specialised units, such as extra-heavy shock cavalry (cataphractii and...
establishment of the Roman Empire). Growing barbarization, turmoil, and weakening of the heavy infantry units in favour of cavalry and lighter troops (see...
Numidian cavalry was a type of light cavalry developed by the Numidians. They were used by Hannibal during the Second Punic War. Numidian cavalry is first...
legions—some 40,000 Roman soldiers and an estimated 2,400 cavalry—formed the core of this massive new army. Livy quotes one source stating the Romans added only...
Roman army of approximately 30,000 men was outnumbered by the Carthaginians who fielded either 40,000 or 50,000; the Romans were stronger in cavalry,...
upon to provide light infantry, logistical, or cavalry support. Phase III At the height of the Roman Empire's power, forces were tasked with manning...
armored cavalry in the armies of different nations were assigned this name by Greek and Roman scholars not familiar with the native terms for such cavalry.[citation...
eques (Latin: [ˈɛ.kʷɛs]). During the Roman Kingdom and the first century of the Roman Republic, legionary cavalry was recruited exclusively from the ranks...
more adapted to Roman tactics. The enemy line could not fight at full strength and their cavalry was rendered useless. The Romancavalry was sent to make...
around 125,000 men, implying approximately 250 auxiliary regiments. The Romancavalry of the earliest Empire were primarily from Celtic, Hispanic or Germanic...
against the Carthaginian cavalry at the Battle of Ticinus. The Romans were soundly beaten and Scipio was wounded. The Romans retreated to near Placentia...
Italy. Hannibal led 6,000 Libyan and Iberian cavalry, while Scipio led 3,600 Roman, Italian and Gallic cavalry and a large but unknown number of light infantry...
infantry or cavalry unit indicated a specialized archer regiment. Regular auxiliary units of foot and horse archers appeared in the Roman army during...
Carthaginian cavalry on the left wing and routed the Romancavalry opposite, then swept around the rear of the Romans to attack the cavalry on the other...
allies: 2400 Light infantry Cavalry; two different accounts: 600 Equites (Romancavalry) and 1,800 allied Italian cavalry, amounting to a total of 2.400...
basic organization as the late Roman army and its West Roman counterpart, but between the 5th and 7th centuries, the cavalry became more important, the field...
arrival galvanised the Roman troops, who "lay aside their javelins [and] carr[ied] on the engagement with their swords." The Romancavalry was suddenly seen...
Carthaginian cavalry on the left wing and routed the Romancavalry opposite, then swept around the rear of the Romans to attack their cavalry on the other...
γυμνάσια, "horse exercises") were ritual tournaments performed by the cavalry of the Roman Empire to both practice their skills and display their expertise...
The Hallaton Helmet is a decorated iron Romancavalry parade helmet originally covered in a sheet of silver and decorated in places with gold leaf. It...
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